Mower



March 1952 R. E. VAN WAGNER MOWER 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed Jan. 30, 1946 Ill- ,1 U G v IN VEN TOR.

ROLLO EVAN WAGNER ATTORNEYS March 18, 1952 R. E. VAN WAGNER MOWER 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed Jan. 50, 1946 KIA INVEN TOR. ROLLO E. VAN WAGNER ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 18, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOWER Rollo. E. Van Wagner, New Haven, Ohio Application January 30, 1946., SerialNo. 644,314

11 Claims.

This invention relates to mowing devices and more particularly to improvements in the cutting, elements thereof and to the manner in whichthey are detachably connected to the device. It is an object of this invention to provide a novel meansof detachably connecting a knife to a chain.

Another object is to provide novel cutting elements which can be simply stamped from sheet metal without requiring subsequent operations to provide the cutting edges. In other Words, the cutting edges are disposed in a plane transverse to the direction of movement of the cutting elements.

. Another object is to provide novel sealing means for. excluding dirt and other foreign. matter from.

the internal working mechanism of the device. 'Another object is to provide a novel knife construction which can bereadily detached from a chain at will but. which is rendered indetachable during normal operation of the device.

Another object is to provide a, novel knife and.

chain. connection which makes provision for movementof the chain links out of alignmentas when the. chain passes over a sprocket wheel.

1 Another object is to provide readily placeable plates which cooperate with .a knife to effect shearing as the knife moves. relative thereto.

Another object is to provide a device in which there are a multiplicity of cutting edges arranged so that only some of them. are operable at any particular instant, In this way, the strain or stress on the chain isreduced and rendered substantially uniform during the entire cycle of operation of the device.

Another object is to provide a device in which the knives move only in one direction and are carried by an endless chain.

- Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particu larly pointed out in the claims, the following; description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, thesebeing indicative, however, oi but a few of the various Ways in which the principle of, the invention may beemployed.

' Iri the. drawing: I v

Fig. 1"is a plan View of the entire device with a'portion-of the-cover plate removed 'Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of one end of the device;

Fig. 3 is across sectional view taken along n'ne 3- 3 of Fig. 1

' er-aliy straight line. between. the sprocket wheels.

. 2. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along. line 4.-4 of Fig. 2;. v v

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along. line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a cross sectionalview taken alongv line 6-3 of Fig. 2; I Fig. '7 is a. longitudinal cross sectional view of. one form of chain;.

Figs. 8. and 9 are perspective views of the cut-- ting elements; and

Figs. 10 and 11 are views showing the manner of detaching the knife from the chain.

Referring now to the drawings,.. the device shownin Fig. 1 includes anelongated framecomprising end caps I and 2 and an intermediateelongated section 3. Rotatably mounted mend cap 2 is an idler sprocket Wheel 5 which. also engages chain, 5 and which can be adjusted longitudinally so. that. the chainis fairly taut between: the two sprocket wheels. 4. and 6. Extending longitudinally of the frame and generall y'fparallel to a straight.v section of the chain. between the sprocket wheels 4 andfi is a comb 1' including a plura1ity of teeth 8. In the form of device: shown,.the teeth 8 are of pyramid shape, although they may be of other shape as desired.v Comb I, is made up of two identical half sections defining.

cavities therebetween, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

The purposes of these cavities will be described in another paragraph of this description. End caps I. and 2 and the. intermediate section. 3 are.

- secured. to thecomb 1 and the comb halt sections! to. one another by screws 9.

Sprocket wheel 6. is mounted for rotation .in a. block 40 which is adjustable longitudinally of the frame and comb as by guideways II in the comb. One end of an adjusting screw I2 is threadably engaged in comb 1 and bears against block it! and consequently when screw l2 .i-s turned, the-block l6 and sprocket wheel 6 carried thereby will be moved to tighten the chain 5 as desired. f v 4 As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the frame is pro.-

- vided with longitudinally extending guide strips.

l3 for guiding chain 5'so that it moves inj a genjand at least precludes vibrati'on of the chain in '"f-one direction so that the knives 14 carried there'- j'by cannot rub against the frame.

Defined between the half sections of the comb is; a longitudinally extending cavity 15. inwhicjh the other side of the chain is guided for movement in a straight line between the sprocket wheels. Each half section of the comb is also provided with a longitudinal groove in which is a felt or similar sealing strip [6. As will be described, these strips IG engage opposite sides of the knives H to prevent ingress of dirt or other foreign matter into the chain and sprocket mechanism chamber. Each tooth '8 of the comb 1 is provided with a dovetail groove in which a ledger plate I! is fitted. Each pair of ledger plates l1 associated with each tooth 8 are held by such dovetails in spaced parallel relation, the

spacing therebetween being substantially equal to the thickness of the knives l4.' Stop pins l8 in each tooth section serve to position each ledger plate I! in proper relation to the tooth 8 with which it is associated. The ledger plates [1 are preferably stamped from sheet metal and the edges l9 and 20 thereof are left square or transverse of the faces thereof. Edge IQ of each ledger plate I! preferably projects beyond the edge of tooth 8 a slight amount. Ledger plates I! can readily'be replaced by shifting; the same toward the left as viewed in Fig. 2 until the dovetail portion 2| is disengaged from the dovetail groove in tooth 8 and then shifting the same laterally of the comb. These ledger plates I! can, if desired, be made of strip-steel having beveled edges and merely cutting sections from said strip.

The chain 5 as used in this device is preferably of the link and pin'type wherein adjacent ends of the links are pivotally connected tov pins. A typical "chain is shown in Fig. 7 and'comprises links'22 with pins 23 therethrough and an intermediate spacer sleeve 24 on each pin 23. In the present form, the teeth of the sprocketwheels 4 and 6 project into the spaces 25 between adjacent links and engage such links in driving relation. 7 i

'The plurality of knives M are detachablyconnected to the chain 5. As clearly shown in Fig. 9, each knife is of generally'triangular shape and includes'space'd ear portions 26 which are hook shape. Both of the hook portions extend in the same direction. The inner surface of each ear portion is shaped to partially encircle the first and third pins 23 of three successive pins on the chain. The reason for spacing the ear portions so as to skip one pin will be'apparent from a study of Figs. 10 and lL In attaching a knife l4 to the chain 5, the links of .the chain are jackknifed to somewhat the'positionshown in Fig. 11 and one ear 26 hooked over one of the pins of the chain. Pin A is then shift d to the'p'osition shown in Fig. 10 whereupon pin B will engage in the other ear'26. Pin C canthen be swung from the dotted position of Fig. 10 to the solid line position of Fig.'10 about'pin B as an axis. Ears 26 are of such width that when chain 5 is disposed in a straight line as in Fig. 10, the knife [4 cannot be displaced longitudinally of the chain; The hooks onthe earspof' course, prevent lateral displacement of the'knife rela tive" to the chain. Knife 14 ,is' provided with a portion 21 opposite pin A to permit limited lateral displacement of pin A out of alignment with the pins engaged by the cars 26 so that the chain can pass around the sprocket wheels 4 and 6.

.To remove the knife M from the chain, the above described steps are simply reversed.

Referringnow to F 'ig'.2 it' is to beobserved that each knife M has portions 28 in abutting re-' lation with adjacent knives 14. These abutting portions 28 bear angular relation to a plane r along the chain so that when the chain is disposedin astraight line there are defined by the v to shear the blades of grass, the distance between knives a series of generally V-shaped spaces corresponding to the V-shaped spaces between the teeth 8 of comb 1.

When the sprocket wheel 4 is rotated, the chain and the knives carried thereby will be moved in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 1. As the knives move, they successively enter the space 29 between the teeth 8 and the comb half sections and 'when'passing from left to right, as viewed in Fig. 1, will alternately traverse the V-shaped openings defined by the teeth '8 and move into thespace 29 defined by the half sections of the comb. As the edges 30 of the knives l4 move into aposition between the ledger plates H, the blades of grass; for example-between the edges 30 and I9 will be sheared. To assure a uniform tension or strain on the chain resulting from the force required adjacent edges 30and the distance between adjacent edges [9 are made slightly different. In one complete cycle each knife edge 30 will have traversed each opening or"'space' between the teeth-8 andwill have performed a shearing operation on whatever material was between said edge 30' and the edges I9 of the ledger plates. However, because of the difference in spacing, as above noted, only a certain number of the knives along the comb will be 'in'a shearing position at any one instant. Thus, a certain'number of knives are cutting at all times and thus the re-' sultant stress on the chain will remain substantially constant during the entire cycle barring, of course, unusual conditions as where a twig or heavy stem" of a weedmay be sheared.

To' further clarify the operation of this device, themovement of a knife from a position in between the ledger plates of one tooth 8 to the same position in the next succeeding tooth 8 will be described. When knife I4 is in position between the two ledger plates of one of the teeth 8, the V-shaped opening between adjacent knives will be in register with the V-shaped opening between two adjacent teeth 8. In such position of the knife, theblades of grass will project above the top face of the knife l4. As the knife moves, the edge 30 thereof will gradually passintothe space between the ledger plates [1' and the blades of grass at the point where the edge 3|] intersects or passes in between the edges [9 of the ledger plates will be sheared. As the knife moves, the point of such intersection moves laterally of the comb 1 and thus when the edge 30 reaches the position where it is completely dis poseld'between the ledger plates l1, all of the blades of grass originally disposed laterally between the edges 39 and [9 will have been sheared. Of course, edges SDand l9 may be parallel laterally of the comb instead of divergent, as shown. In such former case, all of the blades of grass originally in the opening between the teeth would be sheared simultaneously.

In this device the cutting elements, namely the ledger plates I? and knives i are of simple construction and can be stamped from sheet metal without requiring further work to be done and each such element can readily be replaced in case of wear or damage thereto.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In a shearing device, support means, spaced ledger plates carried thereby, a knife of thickness substantially equal to the space between said plates movable to a position between and means preventive of wedging in cutting, including .cutting edges on said plates and knives perpendicular to the planes of the side faces thereof.

2. In a shearing device, support means including spaced cooperating half sections with cavities between, spaced ledger plates held in said cavities, and having parallel inner faces terminating in cutting edges disposed in a plane transverse to the planes of said faces, a knife of uniform thickness substantially equal to the space between said plates movable to a position between said plates, and means preventive of wedging in cutting, including cutting edges on said knife perpendicular to the planes of said faces.

3. In a shearing device having: a support, a ledger plate carried thereby, a chain movable in said support, and a knife carried by said chain in cutting relation with the ledger plate, means for detachably connecting said knife and chain, said means consisting of hook portions on one to engage the other.

4. In a shearing device, support means, a chain comprising a series of links pivotally joined by pins and movably mounted in said support, and a knife detachably connected to said chain provided with spaced ear portions partially encircling alternate pins.

5. In a shearing device, support means, a chain comprising a series of links pivotally joined by pins and movably mounted in said support, and a knife detachably connected to said chain provided with spaced ear portions partially enconnected to said chain, each knife having anabutting contact with the adjacent knife at the back on a curved line, thereby supporting against cutting thrust.

8. In a shearing device, support means, a chain movably mounted therein, a plurality of knives connected to said chain provided with edges thereof in abutting relation to one another, and resilient longitudinal sealing means extending along said knives and engageable therewith in a region including said abutting edges.

9. In a shearing device, support means, a chain comprising a series of links pivotally joined by pins and movably mounted in said support, and a knife connected to said chain by spaced ear portions partially encircling non-adjacent pins, and means for disassambly of the knife with the chain including a contour portion on said knife between said ear portions out of alignment with successive pins whereby on sharply bending the chain the knife ear portions are freed.

10. In a searing device, support means, an end less chain carried thereby movable by rotation of spaced sprocket wheels engageable with said chain, a plurality of knives connected to said chain and movable therewith, a comb in said support means parallel to a portion of said chain between said sprocket wheels provided with a space between which said knives can move, said comb and said knives each defining a series of openings alternately in and out of alignment as said knives move, adjacent portions of said openings being provided with cutting edges perpendicular to the direction of movement of said knives, and each knife having an abutting contact with the adjacent knife at the back on a curved line.

11. In a shearing device, support means, a comb thereon, spaced ledger plates fixed to said comb, and a knife of thickness substantially equal to the space between said plates movable to a position between said plates, said plates and said knife being provided with cutting edges perpendicular to the direction of movement of said knife, said plates and said comb including interengaged dovetail portions for maintaining said plates in fixed spaced relation to one another, and said comb including stop pins engageable with said plates for positioning said plates relative to said comb in a direction parallel to the movement of said knife.

ROLLO E. VAN WAGNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITEP STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 390,510 Norris Oct. 2, 1888 660,281 Traphagen Oct. 23, 1900 744,393 Palmer Nov. 17, 1903 1,050,307 Spielman Jan. 14, 1913 1,430,408 Shaw Sept. 26, 1922 1,458,250 Staudinger June 12, 1923 1,494,308 Hover May 13, 1924 1,532,279 Ullom Apr. 7, 1925 1,974,557 Andis Sept. 25, 1934 

